Ecolab Inc. $ECL Shares Acquired by Assenagon Asset Management S.A.

Key Points

• Assenagon Asset Management S.A. has significantly increased its stake in Ecolab Inc. by 75.9% during Q2, now owning 372,715 shares worth approximately $100 million.
• Ecolab's quarterly earnings report indicated an EPS of $1.89, slightly missing expectations, alongside revenue of $4.03 billion.
• The company recently declared a quarterly dividend of $0.65 per share, scheduled for payment on October 15th, reflecting a 1.0% dividend yield.

Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted its holdings in shares of Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL - Free Report) by 75.9% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 372,715 shares of the basic materials company's stock after purchasing an additional 160,767 shares during the quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. owned 0.13% of Ecolab worth $100,424,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. Nemes Rush Group LLC lifted its position in Ecolab by 6.6% in the 1st quarter. Nemes Rush Group LLC now owns 42,899 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $10,876,000 after buying an additional 2,651 shares during the last quarter. University of Texas Texas AM Investment Management Co. lifted its position in Ecolab by 32.4% in the 1st quarter. University of Texas Texas AM Investment Management Co. now owns 14,005 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $3,551,000 after buying an additional 3,428 shares during the last quarter. Miracle Mile Advisors LLC lifted its position in Ecolab by 15.6% in the 1st quarter. Miracle Mile Advisors LLC now owns 5,576 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $1,414,000 after buying an additional 754 shares during the last quarter. Mirabaud & Cie SA lifted its position in Ecolab by 1.1% in the 1st quarter. Mirabaud & Cie SA now owns 5,092 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $1,291,000 after buying an additional 55 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Modern Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Ecolab in the 1st quarter worth approximately $284,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 74.91% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Suzanne M. Vautrinot sold 1,354 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $283.16, for a total transaction of $383,398.64. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 11,199 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,171,108.84. This trade represents a 10.79% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, SVP Jennifer J. Bradway sold 807 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $279.28, for a total value of $225,378.96. Following the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 4,326 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,208,165.28. This represents a 15.72% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.50% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have weighed in on ECL. Robert W. Baird boosted their price objective on Ecolab from $300.00 to $306.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, September 5th. Citigroup lowered their price objective on Ecolab from $320.00 to $315.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, July 30th. Baird R W upgraded Ecolab from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 30th. Mizuho boosted their price objective on Ecolab from $285.00 to $305.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 15th. Finally, Raymond James Financial assumed coverage on Ecolab in a report on Tuesday, August 26th. They set a "market perform" rating for the company. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Ecolab currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $292.00.

Ecolab Price Performance

NYSE ECL traded down $0.95 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $266.14. 437,924 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,308,473. The company has a market capitalization of $75.48 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.52, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.73 and a beta of 1.07. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $272.30 and a 200-day simple moving average of $261.23. The company has a quick ratio of 1.12, a current ratio of 1.44 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80. Ecolab Inc. has a 12-month low of $221.62 and a 12-month high of $286.04.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 29th. The basic materials company reported $1.89 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.90 by ($0.01). The firm had revenue of $4.03 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $4.03 billion. Ecolab had a net margin of 13.59% and a return on equity of 22.52%. Ecolab has set its Q3 2025 guidance at 2.020-2.120 EPS. FY 2025 guidance at 7.420-7.620 EPS. As a group, analysts predict that Ecolab Inc. will post 7.54 EPS for the current year.

Ecolab Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 16th will be paid a dividend of $0.65 per share. This represents a $2.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 16th. Ecolab's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 34.71%.

About Ecolab

Ecolab Inc provides water, hygiene, and infection prevention solutions and services in the United States and internationally. The company operates through three segments: Global Industrial; Global Institutional & Specialty; and Global Healthcare & Life Sciences. The Global Industrial segment offers water treatment and process applications, and cleaning and sanitizing solutions to manufacturing, food and beverage processing, transportation, chemical, metals and mining, power generation, pulp and paper, commercial laundry, petroleum, refining, and petrochemical industries.